The frightening part of this story is that after this task... Schofield would have gone back to his unit to continue fighting. There was no reprieve for him... for any of them.
Great point on the one take gimmick line. Deacons, (the cinematographer) said the exact same thing when being told about the project. He read the script, then said "It's not a gimmick, it's the only way to tell the story." Then went on to win another academy award for this film.
@@nooneofconsequence1251 The whole point of the “one take” aspect was to emphasize the long and arduous journey. A good bit of that rawness would’ve been lost with traditional editing.
"Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, He travels fastest who travels alone...' is two lines taken from the poem The Winners by Rudyard Kipling. Coincidentally, Rudyard Kipling's son, Jack, was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915.
Coincidentally, or maybe incedentally, there is an African proverb that reads "If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together."
@@alistersinclair4600 Gehenna, in the New Testament, literally means hell, which is a very fitting description for No Man's Land: the mud, the razor wire, the rats and especially the corpses make hell almost seem like an absolute utopia.
This was the last film I saw in the cinema before lockdown, I was completely enveloped in the situation they found themselves in and like you guys exhausted but exhilarated by the end. Great reaction from you both, you weren’t alone in being emotionally touched by this.
This was astounding on the big screen. The flares at night is quite possibly one of my top 5 favorite cinematic moments ever. Such a great film and so glad you guys appreciated it.
yeah so about the dedication at the end. Alfred H. Mendes was a courier in WW1 for the British army and had several stories that they pieced together into 1917. His grandson is Sam Mendes, the director of this film.
I've watched a lot of movies in my life (I'm 56 years old) and this is without doubt one of the best war movies I've seen. Loved the genuine emotion in your reactions.
Great war movies/documentaries always focus on the brotherhood of men. We few, we band of brothers. Something I will never know myself, in the context of war, however, it is not a concept lost on me. Thanks to all the lads that paid for us.
This movie in the cinema was EXQUISITE! The tension, the lighting (especially in the bombed out church yard with the fire), the music...by the time he made the final run across the line you felt like you were running with him. Perfect!
I think one of the most undervalued moments is when LCpl.William Schofield met the French woman with the child. After a few moments with her, he felt somewhat safe and with the comfort of a young woman and child to give him some kind of ease in caring for another. He , and you can see his face, gaining resolution to commit to the bigger cause of trying to save 1,500 men. To leave it behind.
This film and the documentary by Peter Jackson about WW1 called "They Shall Not Grow Old" are must see pieces of media about The Great War. Jackson spent years restoring, stabilizing and adding computer aided colorization to footage from the war that has never been seen by the public. The intent was to make the footage appear modern, so that it would be more relatable to people who felt the war was some disconnected event from the long ago past. It was part of the 100 year anniversary remembrance of the war, it released on November 9, 2018...two days before the observance of Armistice Day on November 11, which commemorates the end of WW1.
Yes and it really is a cinematic experience unlike many documentaries - just for those who don't usually like documentaries. It's also as real as it gets.
I'm so glad you both caught the cherry tree blossoms in the river. So many people miss that and it was one of the most moving part of the film. Great reaction.
22:32 The fall wasn't scripted at all. The extra that he rang into thought he ruined the take and stayed down. But when George McKay got up and kept chasing after the camera on the truck, they kept it in the final cut of the film.
I saw this in the theater when it first came out. Amazing to see on the big screen. The local Armory put on a display in the aisle of the seating in full authentic uniform of the period and had a display of various pieces of equipment and uniforms in the lobby. Memorable.
little fun detail from the movie, they mention the "Newfoundlands" and you asked if its what they called Canadians. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949, meaning that at this time it was an independent colony of Britain. This movie is full of fun historical details!
A shout to George for his skills editing this movie. I’ve watched around fifteen 1917 reaction videos and none do a better job of telling the story than the Cinebinge Directors Cut.
Great reaction, guys! The “Newfoundlanders” were the Newfoundland Regiment, a part of the British Army. Newfoundland was an independent country during WW1 and did not become a part of Canada until 1949. The film depicts the Battle of Arras (April 8-May 16, 1917) where the Newfoundlanders fought at village of Monchy-le-Perux and at the Second Battle of the Scarpe. The Canadian Corps were engaged further north in the Vimy Ridge sector of the battle.
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment has roots back to 1795. The Newfoundlanders fought hard in World War 1. They were the only North American Battalion to fight at Gallipoli, where things did not go well, then fought on the first day of the Somme where they suffered devastating casualties. The regiment was reconstituted and fought on nobly.
@@casualsuede But do Canadians know anything about the Royal Newfoundland Regiment? I sincerely doubt it. In December 1917, the Newfoundland Regiment became the only British or Commonwealth regiment bestowed the title of Royal during WW1, a singularly unique distinction for the regiment.
@@casualsuede If you think so. The only reason I knew Vimy Ridge was because I was interested in history and researched it on my own. Throught my elementary and high school days, I was never taught about Vimy Ridge, and in fact Canada's involvement in wars other than the War of 1812 and peacekeeping duties was rarely discussed.
This is the best war film I’ve seen. The intensity of the whole thing. I always shed a tear when Blake’s brother thanks Schofield for being with Blake. The WW1 cemeteries are a must visit. So beautifully kept and the rows and rows of gravestones really bring home the cost of war like nothing else quite can. What really gets me emotional though was when you come across a stone with no name or date just the simple inscription: A Soldier of The Great War 1914-1918 Known Unto God.
Especially the first world war. It changed the world forever. The entire map of Europe was redrawn after it and it caused all of the Russian, Austria-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires to fall. And it set the stage for the rise of Nazi Germany/WW2, which began 20 years after it ended. It also changed the nature of warfare forever. It was absolutely horrible.
Not basically. It was. That war dramatically changed the world forever. Europe was never the same after it, as it caused four major empires to fall (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). New countries were cut from their ruins, namely Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, etc. Especially Poland, which hadn't existed as an independent country for over a century before that. The reemergence of Poland, which was largely cut out of Russian and German territory, is the reason why the Nazis and the Soviets invaded in 1939. There also would have not been a Nazi Germany or a Soviet Union without the First World War.
I'm not sure about the Asian side of things and whether or not ww1 contributed to the rise of ultra-nationalism in Japan in the 20s, but for Europe, fascism was born out of the aftermath of ww1. The European Axis powers and all that they've done in the name of ideology couldn't have existed without ww1. Both wars took out roughly 60-70 million Europeans... in the span of 10 years alone and undeniably changed Europe and reshaped it into what it is today and what it has been for several decades....I think both wars deserve attention.
The war that basically pitted empires and their colonies against each other, to the point where imperialism ceased to be effective / the beginning of a today’s world of nation states tied loosely together by the UN & other globalizing networks. All for the sake of avoiding something like this from happening again.
@ CineBinge React. In regards 1917, the barbed-wire used was not like today average barbed wire. It was known as Killer Barbed-Wire, and for good reason. It was typically thicker or more stirdy / less flexible. They also tended to have far more barbers per every meter and the barbs were larger and long than todays wires.
From the outside in, as non-soldiers watching soldiers, I think we can all agree that if we were in that German Pilot's position we would have compassion for the enemy. As, they just saved you from burning to death, they haven't indicated that they want to hurt you, just went to get water and saved your life. But I guess the pilot thought, "Hey, a knife against two rifles...no prob, this guy set his rifle down and the other guy left so I'll just stab em'." I assume that German was a battle hardened veteran that wasn't about to be captured by the enemy and saw a chance to escape. And, you guys are right. This movie is VERY poetic. Everything is shown to you in a very matter-of-fact way. Like, how Blake slowly died and...we could've assumed he was going to die immediately based on how he was hurt and where he was hurt, no chance of survival. But viewers held on for hope until you realize that this is how he dies, and sometimes that's just how it is. Accurate to life.
The pilot was probably in shock and filled with adrenaline. He had just been shot down by the enemy and then suddenly two British soldiers start to drag him out of the plane, in his mind he was either about to be captured or interrogation or torture, and was in a state of panic. That's why he went into fight or flight mode
@Noah dean That was war time propaganda. Pilots would usually strafe each other if they survived landings. If a pilot was on the ground and alive they were probably wounded and dying already. It was common for planes on fire to be continued to be shot to pieces as a form of respect. Better to die to gun fire than in a fire. Or a fast death from strafing fire than to bleed out on the ground. At this point in the war, all that chivalry stuff at the start, went out the window. Though it was still seen as unmanly to wear a parachute.
Billy Postlthwaite played NCO Harvey, he was one of the Lannister soldiers Aiya came across when Ed Sheeran sang. Gabriel Aukuwudike played private Buchanan, he was one of the Unsullied at Mereen. They are all I'm sure of, but it wouldn't surprise me to find more GoT actors in this epic...
15:26- I knew this movie was going to be reviewed best by these two. Like, it's entertaining sure. Always great commentary by these two, but also they are smart enough to pick up on all these little things and understand the big and subtle stakes.
When I was a kid my school was 6 kilometres away and I had to walk home. The way home went through some bad places, and there were bullies who would chase you sometimes. I used to cut through houses and vacant properties and had to hide or run sometimes. This movie was like trying to get home from school.
fun fact; the song that is being sung at 20:30 is called "wayfaring stranger", and is about someone who is dying and is feeling joyful about going to Heaven. Which they are singing before they attack the German position.
Great reaction to a fantastic movie - my grandfather fought on the front line with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers from 1914 to 1918 and made it back home to his family.
'Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori' - Wilfred Owen's poetry is well worth the time to find. Many of those soldiers were poets, maybe rather, many poets became soldiers..
The line General Erinmore recites to the two Lance Corporals is from the poem The Winners by Rudyard Kipling. Whom for those who do not know his son Jack Kipling served in WW1 and was killed in the battle of Loos in 1915. After losing his only son Rudyard Kipling who had been vehemently supportive of men enlisting in WW1 adopted the polar opposite stance to this.
Simone and George, You both state how worn out and exhausted you were watching a movie in the comfort of your home. Those poor soldiers lived it day after day for many months at a time or longer. They had the true strength and carried on with shear will. I served in the Army back in 1973 as a Huey Mechanic/door Gunner in an Assault Helicopter Company just missing Viet Nam but stationed in Germany. They horror stories in my company they told were scary but were nothing like this movie..
This was excellent. Best WWI drama I’ve ever seen. Your reactions were so good and the grief in your faces was visceral. Both brothers were in Game of Thrones. Blake was King Tommen - Cersi’s son and his brother played Rob Stark. Such a good movie and the one take wasn’t quite one take but incredible filming nonetheless. Was hoping it would win the Oscar. Great reactions guys.
@5:37 My grandmothers oldest brother fought in WW1, and I was able to read a letter he wrote back to his parents. Two things stood out to me, the first was how he described how muddy everything was and the second was how sad he was over seeing all the dead horses. He had lived his whole life on a farm in rural Michigan and worked alongside several horses. He was 20 when he wrote that letter😢
People forget that WWI wiped out an entire generation of men, to this day the horrors of that war are seared into the consciousness of my countrymen, which is why we remember the brave men on Nov 11th each year. My great grandfather fought in France in the 1st world war. #WeWillRememberThem Great reaction guys. 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The perfect accompaniment to this is the film 'They Shall Not Grow Old' by director Peter Jackson in partnership with Imperial War Museum embarked on a project to digitalise their archive of original film footage shot at the front during WWI. In doing so he was allowed to use various bits of the footage, once digitalised, slowed down to normal speed, colourised, sound added, and overlaid with archived audio of interviews with WWI veterans. Because no audio was recorded with the images at the time, where possible lip readers were also used to try and 'fill in' what soldiers in the footage were saying as the cameras rolled. It really does present the actual war in detail not seen before. It should be considered a must watch.
George Mackay is an excellent actor I really enjoying your reactions Keep up the good work Hot Fuzz and Young Frankenstein are two good comedies worth seeing 🙂🙂🙂
Thanks again team for watching this. Thanks for sharing. As a WWII history buff one also has to have a good grounding in WW1 history. Shocking how WW1 started.
Great reactions. Thank you. I watched this in the cinema and it was so intense I was ready to walk out as I could hardly breathe with the tension . One thing about the Great War or WW1 as it became known. I thought of it as they were talking of finding the Devons ( Devon being a county in England). I don’t know how long it went on for but local groups of young men from say, a village, a town a college, farm and estate workers would all go off to war together and would end up going into battle together. Whole villages could lose most of their husbands, brothers and fathers in a day. To this day, when you drive through even the smallest village or market town, there will be a stone cross or memorial naming those lost from the community. Every year on Remembrance Sunday, the nearest Sunday to 11/11, Armistice Day, every one will have a service and a wreath of poppies laid. We always go and it’s very moving as we all stand for a minutes silence at 11 o’clock to remember all those lost in conflicts.
Everyone gets angry at the German pilot but you have to realize it's different being there. Crashing in enemy territory and waking up to seeing enemy soldiers around you, speaking a language you can't understand, your first thought isn't "oh they saved me". Your first thought is "they're going to torture me for information or kill me slowly". From there fight or flight takes over.
An incredible movie. I took a date to see this, not knowing how tragic and wrenching this was. As a cold warrior, I knew from stories how things were back then, but like Pvt. Ryan did for WWII, this shocked everyone to the horrors of WWI.
I really like the way this film approaches the war. Most war films I've seen, except those based on true stories, basically glorify the death and destruction. This one, on the other hand, really puts into perspective how difficult things were back then.
This movie was astonishing. I went in cold and it blew me away. I really hope they bring it back to Imax sometime; I'd love to see it on the big screen.
My great grandfather lied about his age to get into WW1. One thing I know about him that he was in the first battle of the Ypres in 1915 where the first mustard gas was used in combat. Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada at the time.
I took a trip to France and Belgium with my dad last year and saw many of the WWI, WWII battle fields an cemeteries. There are many places where the trenches still exist and are preserved. The majority of the battlefields we saw still have the shell craters and there were areas fenced off with barbwire and signs warning people to not cross over because there is still live explosives buried that still haven't been found.
The final 30 minutes of this movie are up there with some of the greatest moments in cinematic history for me. You are watching a day in the life of a Victoria Cross recipient (The UK equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honour) Absolutely riveting and inspiring stuff. I was very depressed at the time I first watched this film, and the last half hour had me bawling like a baby - it felt like a metaphor for overcoming depression. Like no matter how bad the odds are, if you reach into the depths of your soul and give it your all, you can crawl from the darkest of depths. 10/10
Andrew Scott steals the scene for me (as with most of his work), one of his props however kept trying to sabotage it. The lighter he used kept failing to light causing a retake, towards the end of a very long unbroken take, with how tight production was to achieve the "one take" look (with daylight and weather issues) this one prop failing cost a lot of money and annoyed quite a lot of people to say the least 😂
Some of that stuff still isn't cleaned up. There are red zones in France that people only go in to defuse hundred-year-old bombs. They get dug up in a lot of places by farmers too. The iron harvest, it's called. Hell, the French government at least has a department of mine clearance.
" From little towns in a far land we came. To save our honor and a world aflame. By little towns in a far land we sleep. And trust the world we won for you to keep." Canadian Memorial by Rudyard Kipling (Deas Gu Cath)
Another great World War One movie is Passchendaele from 2008. Begins and ends with the war in France, but most of it is back home in Canada. One major character is played by Caroline Dhavernas, of Wonderfalls fame! (Love that TV series!)
Most people look at the numbers of casualties in a war and don't really let it sink it. But when Schofield is running on the battlefield and you see all the soldiers running past him towards the trap, you realize each one is a man he failed to save.
That was the day that the US entered the War. (April 6, 1917) It was the beginning of the end for the German Empire. My grandfather was sent over there. Some say that the Americans "just came in at the end", to which I have two answers: one is that why did you think it ended in 1918? Might it have had something to do with the Allies getting possibly millions of fresh troops? Or maybe that if you were, like my grandfather, a doughboy engaged in brutal trench combat, that it didn't actually matter that it was "almost over" since men were maimed and dying every damn day, just as much as any Frenchman or Brit.
The shells also used to be refurbished as vases and sculptures. Soldiers used to sculp them with various patterns (flowers, scenery, etc...) as a form of hobby. They later were brought back home as souvenirs and decorations (flowers pots, lamp stands, etc...). Most, if not all, the houses in northern France, used to have at least one.
In the napoleonic wars soldiers were carve up bones from their meals into intricate miniatures and such Gotta fill time and sometimes earn a little extra scratch
Unfortunately, I think she lied about it being her first time watching. She had seen it before, according to the Saving Private Ryan reaction video, which they filmed a few months before this one.
Bonus Fun Fact: When he went over with the second wave and ran into those people it was an accident but since he kept running and it was expensive to reshoot they kept it in!
It may be inappropriate to make this suggestion in the current context, but I think one of the best depictions of WWI is the fourth season of "Blackadder", "Blackadder Goes Fourth". And it gives the best explanation on how the war started, too!
In regards to children making artillery shells...yes, it happened in World War I. There were no factories that used exclusively children, as far as I have read, but there were parts of the shell filling process that only a very small sized hand could do, so there were definitely factories all over the world that used at least some children. The primary job appears to have been the insertion of the fuses in the shells, especially as the shells got smaller in diameter and thus required a small hand to get inside. I do not know where you might have heard anything else, but there was a brief scene in Schindler's List where he justifies keeping a young boy on the "payroll" due to the need to polish the inside of 50mm tank shells. That may or may not be true, but I cannot find anything confirming that specifically happening in World War 2. 🖖✌
I believe it was still quite common practice for children to assemble shells until well after WW2 because modern high-precision manufacturing methods that combined both large components like artillery shells and detail polishing or assembly were not available yet.
@@spdcrzy I don't believe there are any credible reports of children being used in shell production in the US, but I cannot claim to be an expert...and I certainly cannot speak to any other nation's practices. ✌
Andrew Scott is indeed amazing, they guy who didn't know what day it was. No matter if you love Shakespeare of have never seen a single play, his Hamlet is a must watch. It was so fucking good. He and Jessica Brown Findlay who played Ophelia were both spectacular.
I really don't think the German chap at 15:29 was a "sniper". A sniper likely wouldn't have missed, or fired at all at that moment. I've always taken this scene as a wounded or lost German soldier who was trying to hide, saw an approaching allied soldier, and panicked. Nothing about the way he behaves indicates he was a sniper, put there to do that job. The Germans were retreating through that area to their newly established line (based on a true event, by the by). Stands to reason some of them might get lost or separated from their unit, or be too badly wounded for the Germans to take them along. Such things happen in war. Struck me as a panicked, young, inexperienced infantryman/conscript. Not a trained, expert Sniper.
They're still cleaning up after this war. There are hundreds of millions of unexploded munitions, everything from grenades to large cannon shells, scattered across Europe. They still get discovered on a daily basis and have to be disposed of. There's a small town in France that's sitting over top of a buried cache of high explosives that didn't detonate when it was supposed to. If it ever goes off the town is gone.
If you ever heard of the term "No man's land" you just saw where the term originated. On one side you had the German trenches and on the other side you had the British, French and Belgian trenches. A network of trenches that ran from the English Channel/North Sea to the border of Switzerland and the ground in between was "No man's land". When war broke out in August of 1914 none of the armies of Europe were prepared to deal with skilled infantrymen armed with rifles that held 5 rounds in the mag, machines guns and rapid fire artillery. The French Army still wore bright red and blue uniforms and everyone still had cavalry with lances and swords. When you all noticed the German trenches were better constructed it was due to the fact that the Western Front had hardly moved either way for about 2 1/2 years. The Germans started building concrete bunkers and reinforced trench lines all linked up into what was called the Hindenberg Line. The Allies attacked the lines several times in 1917 but wasn't breached until September of 1918. It was during this static period that in which the British trying to figure out how to cross no man's land that the tank was developed. The Germans developed the Stormtrooper tactic as their way of crossing no man's land. Both sides soon copied each others concepts. Another good WW1 movie to watch is All Quiet on the Western Front. One was made in 1930 and another was made in 1979. They are based off the book of the same name written by Erich Maria Remarque who was a German soldier who fought on the Western Front in WW1.
we have a saying in Australia on anzac day. "less we forget"". If we forget our past we will repeat it. Just like every other civilization in history that forgot.
Such a good movie. Some cuts were done by blending a bit of cgi with the actual footage. If i remember right, a scene where they slide into a crater is a blended scene.
The land around the city of Verdun still has some WW1 crater scars I believe. I also remember a couple of years ago that in one French town while doing some road work they found a buried US M5 Stuart light tank from WW2. They think what may have happened was the tank broke down or was knocked out by the Germans and the Americans just left it there. Later when rebuilding they think the workers pushed the tank into a nearby shell/bomb crater to fill it up faster.
Though English...I had a Grt Uncle, Pvt. George H Johnston who fought as a Canadian with the 47th Batt. CEF. in WW1. He suffered a severe head wound and was returned to Canada where he spent the remainder of his life in a mental hospital. That is untill he committed suicide in 1927 by drinking corrosive acid. Whether this was on purpose or by accident due to his mental state I do not know. But it's a sad end for a soldier.
13:20 'Is that what they called Canadians in WW1?' - er...Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada until 1949. It was an independent British Dominion, just like Canada, Australia etc. I am British and know this, so how come these Canadians are unaware? Very strange.
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The frightening part of this story is that after this task... Schofield would have gone back to his unit to continue fighting. There was no reprieve for him... for any of them.
He might even have died from the wound on his hand.
@@tristanting6323 He more than likely would've died from that. Disease and infection was a massive problem during WW1.
@@tristanting6323 but this film is based upon accounts of Sam Mendes' own grandfather, who the character of Scofield is based upon.
Tragically, given where the movie takes palce. They would attack there anyway. The the battle of passendale was a disaster
he died from infection
Great point on the one take gimmick line. Deacons, (the cinematographer) said the exact same thing when being told about the project. He read the script, then said "It's not a gimmick, it's the only way to tell the story." Then went on to win another academy award for this film.
@@nooneofconsequence1251 The whole point of the “one take” aspect was to emphasize the long and arduous journey. A good bit of that rawness would’ve been lost with traditional editing.
"Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, He travels fastest who travels alone...' is two lines taken from the poem The Winners by Rudyard Kipling.
Coincidentally, Rudyard Kipling's son, Jack, was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915.
If any question why we died, / Tell them, because our fathers lied.
Coincidentally, or maybe incedentally, there is an African proverb that reads "If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together."
The name of the music from the OST that plays as they're first crossing no-man's land is named Gehenna, incidentally. Or not incidentally
@@alistersinclair4600 Gehenna, in the New Testament, literally means hell, which is a very fitting description for No Man's Land: the mud, the razor wire, the rats and especially the corpses make hell almost seem like an absolute utopia.
This was the last film I saw in the cinema before lockdown, I was completely enveloped in the situation they found themselves in and like you guys exhausted but exhilarated by the end. Great reaction from you both, you weren’t alone in being emotionally touched by this.
Same!
ive only seen uncut gems and tenet since this one in theaters. we still have lockdowns going on here in canada.
Ditto.
I saw it 3 times in the theater 😆✨✨
Been watching a lot of your reactions… George is ridiculously smart. Just had to say that.
This was astounding on the big screen. The flares at night is quite possibly one of my top 5 favorite cinematic moments ever. Such a great film and so glad you guys appreciated it.
yeah so about the dedication at the end. Alfred H. Mendes was a courier in WW1 for the British army and had several stories that they pieced together into 1917. His grandson is Sam Mendes, the director of this film.
I've watched a lot of movies in my life (I'm 56 years old) and this is without doubt one of the best war movies I've seen. Loved the genuine emotion in your reactions.
This is the only movie I've paid to see twice at a theater
Watch more war movies, this was awful.
Great war movies/documentaries always focus on the brotherhood of men.
We few, we band of brothers.
Something I will never know myself, in the context of war, however, it is not a concept lost on me.
Thanks to all the lads that paid for us.
@@mister2628 It's a matter of personal taste. You like different things to me. That's all.
@@mister2628 maybe u just like action rather than suspense but saying its awful is just nonsense.
This movie in the cinema was EXQUISITE! The tension, the lighting (especially in the bombed out church yard with the fire), the music...by the time he made the final run across the line you felt like you were running with him. Perfect!
As a Brit my great grandparents would never let us forget how great the Canadians were in WW1.
They was great in WW2 also. They was with us right from the start.
Fun fact Canada has never lost a war
And great they remain. The true north, strong and free! 🇨🇦🇬🇧
And the ANZACS
I think one of the most undervalued moments is when LCpl.William Schofield met the French woman with the child. After a few moments with her, he felt somewhat safe and with the comfort of a young woman and child to give him some kind of ease in caring for another. He , and you can see his face, gaining resolution to commit to the bigger cause of trying to save 1,500 men. To leave it behind.
That’s made me cry
This film and the documentary by Peter Jackson about WW1 called "They Shall Not Grow Old" are must see pieces of media about The Great War. Jackson spent years restoring, stabilizing and adding computer aided colorization to footage from the war that has never been seen by the public. The intent was to make the footage appear modern, so that it would be more relatable to people who felt the war was some disconnected event from the long ago past. It was part of the 100 year anniversary remembrance of the war, it released on November 9, 2018...two days before the observance of Armistice Day on November 11, which commemorates the end of WW1.
Yes and it really is a cinematic experience unlike many documentaries - just for those who don't usually like documentaries. It's also as real as it gets.
Great movie.
*watches 1 film about WW1*
Commenter: you should turn into a WW1 channel just for me
Yes, a far more worthwhile experience than watching this piece of crap.
@@mister2628 hey now, this is also based on real people and what happened to them. Both pieces of work are great, even if PJ's may edge it.
I'm so glad you both caught the cherry tree blossoms in the river. So many people miss that and it was one of the most moving part of the film. Great reaction.
22:32 The fall wasn't scripted at all. The extra that he rang into thought he ruined the take and stayed down. But when George McKay got up and kept chasing after the camera on the truck, they kept it in the final cut of the film.
Great piece of improv by McKay. Add drama to the scene.
Technically soldiers had to be at least 19. But lots of 14yr olds signed up.
I saw this in the theater when it first came out. Amazing to see on the big screen. The local Armory put on a display in the aisle of the seating in full authentic uniform of the period and had a display of various pieces of equipment and uniforms in the lobby. Memorable.
little fun detail from the movie, they mention the "Newfoundlands" and you asked if its what they called Canadians. Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949, meaning that at this time it was an independent colony of Britain. This movie is full of fun historical details!
A shout to George for his skills editing this movie. I’ve watched around fifteen 1917 reaction videos and none do a better job of telling the story than the Cinebinge Directors Cut.
Great reaction, guys! The “Newfoundlanders” were the Newfoundland Regiment, a part of the British Army. Newfoundland was an independent country during WW1 and did not become a part of Canada until 1949. The film depicts the Battle of Arras (April 8-May 16, 1917) where the Newfoundlanders fought at village of Monchy-le-Perux and at the Second Battle of the Scarpe. The Canadian Corps were engaged further north in the Vimy Ridge sector of the battle.
Every Canadian who remembers freshman history in high school knows the name Vimy Ridge. Or they should.
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment has roots back to 1795. The Newfoundlanders fought hard in World War 1. They were the only North American Battalion to fight at Gallipoli, where things did not go well, then fought on the first day of the Somme where they suffered devastating casualties. The regiment was reconstituted and fought on nobly.
@@casualsuede But do Canadians know anything about the Royal Newfoundland Regiment? I sincerely doubt it. In December 1917, the Newfoundland Regiment became the only British or Commonwealth regiment bestowed the title of Royal during WW1, a singularly unique distinction for the regiment.
@@casualsuede If you think so. The only reason I knew Vimy Ridge was because I was interested in history and researched it on my own. Throught my elementary and high school days, I was never taught about Vimy Ridge, and in fact Canada's involvement in wars other than the War of 1812 and peacekeeping duties was rarely discussed.
We discussed vimy ridge in middle and high school @@robertcampbell8070
This is the best war film I’ve seen. The intensity of the whole thing. I always shed a tear when Blake’s brother thanks Schofield for being with Blake. The WW1 cemeteries are a must visit. So beautifully kept and the rows and rows of gravestones really bring home the cost of war like nothing else quite can. What really gets me emotional though was when you come across a stone with no name or date just the simple inscription: A Soldier of The Great War 1914-1918 Known Unto God.
I've seen the tomb of the Unknown soldier of the first world war. It's underneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
"When you get to the dead horses, turn left." What a line. It's as if he was saying, "When you get to Elm Street, turn left." War is hell.
Especially the first world war. It changed the world forever. The entire map of Europe was redrawn after it and it caused all of the Russian, Austria-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires to fall. And it set the stage for the rise of Nazi Germany/WW2, which began 20 years after it ended. It also changed the nature of warfare forever. It was absolutely horrible.
That was Andrew Scott at the beginning (Jim Moriarty) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) at the end.
ww1 is often overlooked because of how crazy ww2 was. but ww1 was basically the demarcation line between the old world and the modern world.
Not basically. It was. That war dramatically changed the world forever. Europe was never the same after it, as it caused four major empires to fall (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire). New countries were cut from their ruins, namely Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, etc. Especially Poland, which hadn't existed as an independent country for over a century before that. The reemergence of Poland, which was largely cut out of Russian and German territory, is the reason why the Nazis and the Soviets invaded in 1939. There also would have not been a Nazi Germany or a Soviet Union without the First World War.
I'm not sure about the Asian side of things and whether or not ww1 contributed to the rise of ultra-nationalism in Japan in the 20s, but for Europe, fascism was born out of the aftermath of ww1. The European Axis powers and all that they've done in the name of ideology couldn't have existed without ww1. Both wars took out roughly 60-70 million Europeans... in the span of 10 years alone and undeniably changed Europe and reshaped it into what it is today and what it has been for several decades....I think both wars deserve attention.
The war that basically pitted empires and their colonies against each other, to the point where imperialism ceased to be effective / the beginning of a today’s world of nation states tied loosely together by the UN & other globalizing networks. All for the sake of avoiding something like this from happening again.
@ CineBinge React. In regards 1917, the barbed-wire used was not like today average barbed wire. It was known as Killer Barbed-Wire, and for good reason. It was typically thicker or more stirdy / less flexible. They also tended to have far more barbers per every meter and the barbs were larger and long than todays wires.
From the outside in, as non-soldiers watching soldiers, I think we can all agree that if we were in that German Pilot's position we would have compassion for the enemy. As, they just saved you from burning to death, they haven't indicated that they want to hurt you, just went to get water and saved your life. But I guess the pilot thought, "Hey, a knife against two rifles...no prob, this guy set his rifle down and the other guy left so I'll just stab em'." I assume that German was a battle hardened veteran that wasn't about to be captured by the enemy and saw a chance to escape. And, you guys are right. This movie is VERY poetic. Everything is shown to you in a very matter-of-fact way. Like, how Blake slowly died and...we could've assumed he was going to die immediately based on how he was hurt and where he was hurt, no chance of survival. But viewers held on for hope until you realize that this is how he dies, and sometimes that's just how it is. Accurate to life.
I imagine he was in shock after having machine gun fire hit him, while burning alive.
The pilot was probably in shock and filled with adrenaline. He had just been shot down by the enemy and then suddenly two British soldiers start to drag him out of the plane, in his mind he was either about to be captured or interrogation or torture, and was in a state of panic. That's why he went into fight or flight mode
The German likely didn't want to become a prisoner.
@Noah dean That was war time propaganda. Pilots would usually strafe each other if they survived landings. If a pilot was on the ground and alive they were probably wounded and dying already. It was common for planes on fire to be continued to be shot to pieces as a form of respect. Better to die to gun fire than in a fire. Or a fast death from strafing fire than to bleed out on the ground. At this point in the war, all that chivalry stuff at the start, went out the window. Though it was still seen as unmanly to wear a parachute.
I wouldn't expect a guy who'd just been in a plane crash and caught fire, and fallen into the hands of the enemy to behave rationally.
Who knew Tommen and Robb Stark would end up playing brothers.
I’ve seen this twice and never realized Tommon was in it. Rob yes.
Billy Postlthwaite played NCO Harvey, he was one of the Lannister soldiers Aiya came across when Ed Sheeran sang. Gabriel Aukuwudike played private Buchanan, he was one of the Unsullied at Mereen. They are all I'm sure of, but it wouldn't surprise me to find more GoT actors in this epic...
15:26- I knew this movie was going to be reviewed best by these two. Like, it's entertaining sure. Always great commentary by these two, but also they are smart enough to pick up on all these little things and understand the big and subtle stakes.
When I was a kid my school was 6 kilometres away and I had to walk home. The way home went through some bad places, and there were bullies who would chase you sometimes. I used to cut through houses and vacant properties and had to hide or run sometimes. This movie was like trying to get home from school.
Absolute artistry this film is. Cried multiple times, even on rewatches. It just hits me that hard.
I saw it in IMAX. I don’t think I’ve had such an overwhelming cinema experience.
fun fact; the song that is being sung at 20:30 is called "wayfaring stranger", and is about someone who is dying and is feeling joyful about going to Heaven. Which they are singing before they attack the German position.
Great reaction to a fantastic movie - my grandfather fought on the front line with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers from 1914 to 1918 and made it back home to his family.
This is my personal favourite war movie of all time. The one-take made this film such a personal story, I felt like I truly knew these characters.
'Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori' - Wilfred Owen's poetry is well worth the time to find. Many of those soldiers were poets, maybe rather, many poets became soldiers..
The line General Erinmore recites to the two Lance Corporals is from the poem The Winners by Rudyard Kipling. Whom for those who do not know his son Jack Kipling served in WW1 and was killed in the battle of Loos in 1915. After losing his only son Rudyard Kipling who had been vehemently supportive of men enlisting in WW1 adopted the polar opposite stance to this.
Simone and George, You both state how worn out and exhausted you were watching a movie in the comfort of your home. Those poor soldiers lived it day after day for many months at a time or longer. They had the true strength and carried on with shear will. I served in the Army back in 1973 as a Huey Mechanic/door Gunner in an Assault Helicopter Company just missing Viet Nam but stationed in Germany. They horror stories in my company they told were scary but were nothing like this movie..
This was excellent. Best WWI drama I’ve ever seen. Your reactions were so good and the grief in your faces was visceral. Both brothers were in Game of Thrones. Blake was King Tommen - Cersi’s son and his brother played Rob Stark. Such a good movie and the one take wasn’t quite one take but incredible filming nonetheless. Was hoping it would win the Oscar. Great reactions guys.
@5:37 My grandmothers oldest brother fought in WW1, and I was able to read a letter he wrote back to his parents. Two things stood out to me, the first was how he described how muddy everything was and the second was how sad he was over seeing all the dead horses. He had lived his whole life on a farm in rural Michigan and worked alongside several horses. He was 20 when he wrote that letter😢
People forget that WWI wiped out an entire generation of men, to this day the horrors of that war are seared into the consciousness of my countrymen, which is why we remember the brave men on Nov 11th each year. My great grandfather fought in France in the 1st world war. #WeWillRememberThem
Great reaction guys. 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The perfect accompaniment to this is the film 'They Shall Not Grow Old' by director Peter Jackson in partnership with Imperial War Museum embarked on a project to digitalise their archive of original film footage shot at the front during WWI. In doing so he was allowed to use various bits of the footage, once digitalised, slowed down to normal speed, colourised, sound added, and overlaid with archived audio of interviews with WWI veterans. Because no audio was recorded with the images at the time, where possible lip readers were also used to try and 'fill in' what soldiers in the footage were saying as the cameras rolled. It really does present the actual war in detail not seen before. It should be considered a must watch.
George Mackay is an excellent actor
I really enjoying your reactions
Keep up the good work
Hot Fuzz and Young Frankenstein are two good comedies worth seeing
🙂🙂🙂
I cannot type , I meant to say " I am really enjoying your reactions " D'oh
He is
Thanks again team for watching this. Thanks for sharing. As a WWII history buff one also has to have a good grounding in WW1 history. Shocking how WW1 started.
Last movie I saw in theaters before COVID … glad it was a great one!
Great reactions. Thank you. I watched this in the cinema and it was so intense I was ready to walk out as I could hardly breathe with the tension . One thing about the Great War or WW1 as it became known. I thought of it as they were talking of finding the Devons ( Devon being a county in England). I don’t know how long it went on for but local groups of young men from say, a village, a town a college, farm and estate workers would all go off to war together and would end up going into battle together. Whole villages could lose most of their husbands, brothers and fathers in a day. To this day, when you drive through even the smallest village or market town, there will be a stone cross or memorial naming those lost from the community. Every year on Remembrance Sunday, the nearest Sunday to 11/11, Armistice Day, every one will have a service and a wreath of poppies laid.
We always go and it’s very moving as we all stand for a minutes silence at 11 o’clock to remember all those lost in conflicts.
Everyone gets angry at the German pilot but you have to realize it's different being there. Crashing in enemy territory and waking up to seeing enemy soldiers around you, speaking a language you can't understand, your first thought isn't "oh they saved me". Your first thought is "they're going to torture me for information or kill me slowly". From there fight or flight takes over.
He is asking for "wasser (water)" which shows that he has some understanding of the fact that those people want to help him.
@@axeldewater9491 No he asked for water because he’s dehydrated from getting burned, he doesn’t know whats going on buddy.
War is hell, if people acted rationally war wouldn’t exist
Ah Germans. Anyone remember when they went on an extended holiday through Poland in '39?
An incredible movie. I took a date to see this, not knowing how tragic and wrenching this was. As a cold warrior, I knew from stories how things were back then, but like Pvt. Ryan did for WWII, this shocked everyone to the horrors of WWI.
I really like the way this film approaches the war. Most war films I've seen, except those based on true stories, basically glorify the death and destruction. This one, on the other hand, really puts into perspective how difficult things were back then.
This movie was astonishing. I went in cold and it blew me away. I really hope they bring it back to Imax sometime; I'd love to see it on the big screen.
My great grandfather lied about his age to get into WW1. One thing I know about him that he was in the first battle of the Ypres in 1915 where the first mustard gas was used in combat.
Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada at the time.
I took a trip to France and Belgium with my dad last year and saw many of the WWI, WWII battle fields an cemeteries. There are many places where the trenches still exist and are preserved. The majority of the battlefields we saw still have the shell craters and there were areas fenced off with barbwire and signs warning people to not cross over because there is still live explosives buried that still haven't been found.
Only reaction that shows even a glimpse of that singing. Good job. Awesome movie.
The final 30 minutes of this movie are up there with some of the greatest moments in cinematic history for me. You are watching a day in the life of a Victoria Cross recipient (The UK equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honour) Absolutely riveting and inspiring stuff. I was very depressed at the time I first watched this film, and the last half hour had me bawling like a baby - it felt like a metaphor for overcoming depression. Like no matter how bad the odds are, if you reach into the depths of your soul and give it your all, you can crawl from the darkest of depths. 10/10
Well said.
Andrew Scott steals the scene for me (as with most of his work), one of his props however kept trying to sabotage it.
The lighter he used kept failing to light causing a retake, towards the end of a very long unbroken take, with how tight production was to achieve the "one take" look (with daylight and weather issues) this one prop failing cost a lot of money and annoyed quite a lot of people to say the least 😂
4:15- The Music guy, the constant Bear Grylls follow you everywhere camera man and the cinematographer are all doing the job of a lifetime!!!
The stout guy with the hooked nose at the end. The guy standing next to Benderick cucumberpatch looks like CS Lewis. Haha
Some of that stuff still isn't cleaned up. There are red zones in France that people only go in to defuse hundred-year-old bombs. They get dug up in a lot of places by farmers too. The iron harvest, it's called.
Hell, the French government at least has a department of mine clearance.
Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948) is another example of a movie playing out in real time, with as few cuts as possible.
Your best reactions ever - you felt, I felt, this journey with you - awesome.
This movie is constant painful stress and panic. It makes you feel like a third soldier with them
" From little towns in a far land we came. To save our honor and a world aflame. By little towns in a far land we sleep. And trust the world we won for you to keep." Canadian Memorial by Rudyard Kipling (Deas Gu Cath)
Another great World War One movie is Passchendaele from 2008. Begins and ends with the war in France, but most of it is back home in Canada. One major character is played by Caroline Dhavernas, of Wonderfalls fame! (Love that TV series!)
Most people look at the numbers of casualties in a war and don't really let it sink it. But when Schofield is running on the battlefield and you see all the soldiers running past him towards the trap, you realize each one is a man he failed to save.
That was the day that the US entered the War. (April 6, 1917) It was the beginning of the end for the German Empire. My grandfather was sent over there. Some say that the Americans "just came in at the end", to which I have two answers: one is that why did you think it ended in 1918? Might it have had something to do with the Allies getting possibly millions of fresh troops? Or maybe that if you were, like my grandfather, a doughboy engaged in brutal trench combat, that it didn't actually matter that it was "almost over" since men were maimed and dying every damn day, just as much as any Frenchman or Brit.
22:35 The best “Oh my God!” ever?
Tom and his brother were both in Game of Thrones. Tom played Tommen Baratheon and his brother was Robb Stark.
23:54 Awww 🥰 Never underestimate the power of an attaboy
Love people’s reactions to this special film
The shells also used to be refurbished as vases and sculptures.
Soldiers used to sculp them with various patterns (flowers, scenery, etc...) as a form of hobby. They later were brought back home as souvenirs and decorations (flowers pots, lamp stands, etc...).
Most, if not all, the houses in northern France, used to have at least one.
It was called ‘Trench Art’. Still available in Ypres when I visited in 2019.
In the napoleonic wars soldiers were carve up bones from their meals into intricate miniatures and such
Gotta fill time and sometimes earn a little extra scratch
Mustard gas was used a lot in WW1 my great grandfather was killed in action by way of gas in France he was a Australian ANZAC
I felt so bad for Simone I know this was really tough and hard to watch but she did such a great job.
Unfortunately, I think she lied about it being her first time watching. She had seen it before, according to the Saving Private Ryan reaction video, which they filmed a few months before this one.
Watch the "making of" content to see how they pulled it off. Quite impressive.
"Down to Gehenna, or up to the throne, he travels fastest who travels alone."
- Rupyard Kipling
Really well done war movie. Loved that scene with the huge crater in combination with the music.
I think i saw somewhere they accidentally ran into eachother running on top of the bunker and just kept it in.
This was my last movie before quarantine. We laughed so hard when he put his hand in the body.
Well I sure cried my eyes out. Loved your reaction!
Bonus Fun Fact: When he went over with the second wave and ran into those people it was an accident but since he kept running and it was expensive to reshoot they kept it in!
Newfoundland was still a seperate dominion in 1917, so they had their own regiment that went to France, seperate from the Canadian corp
It may be inappropriate to make this suggestion in the current context, but I think one of the best depictions of WWI is the fourth season of "Blackadder", "Blackadder Goes Fourth". And it gives the best explanation on how the war started, too!
In regards to children making artillery shells...yes, it happened in World War I. There were no factories that used exclusively children, as far as I have read, but there were parts of the shell filling process that only a very small sized hand could do, so there were definitely factories all over the world that used at least some children. The primary job appears to have been the insertion of the fuses in the shells, especially as the shells got smaller in diameter and thus required a small hand to get inside. I do not know where you might have heard anything else, but there was a brief scene in Schindler's List where he justifies keeping a young boy on the "payroll" due to the need to polish the inside of 50mm tank shells. That may or may not be true, but I cannot find anything confirming that specifically happening in World War 2. 🖖✌
I believe it was still quite common practice for children to assemble shells until well after WW2 because modern high-precision manufacturing methods that combined both large components like artillery shells and detail polishing or assembly were not available yet.
@@spdcrzy I don't believe there are any credible reports of children being used in shell production in the US, but I cannot claim to be an expert...and I certainly cannot speak to any other nation's practices. ✌
Andrew Scott is indeed amazing, they guy who didn't know what day it was. No matter if you love Shakespeare of have never seen a single play, his Hamlet is a must watch. It was so fucking good. He and Jessica Brown Findlay who played Ophelia were both spectacular.
The quote is from Kipling, and it reminds me of a joke.
Do you read much?
Sure. All the time.
Do you like Kipling?
I don't know. I've never kipled.
I really don't think the German chap at 15:29 was a "sniper". A sniper likely wouldn't have missed, or fired at all at that moment. I've always taken this scene as a wounded or lost German soldier who was trying to hide, saw an approaching allied soldier, and panicked. Nothing about the way he behaves indicates he was a sniper, put there to do that job. The Germans were retreating through that area to their newly established line (based on a true event, by the by). Stands to reason some of them might get lost or separated from their unit, or be too badly wounded for the Germans to take them along. Such things happen in war. Struck me as a panicked, young, inexperienced infantryman/conscript. Not a trained, expert Sniper.
They're still cleaning up after this war. There are hundreds of millions of unexploded munitions, everything from grenades to large cannon shells, scattered across Europe. They still get discovered on a daily basis and have to be disposed of. There's a small town in France that's sitting over top of a buried cache of high explosives that didn't detonate when it was supposed to. If it ever goes off the town is gone.
If you ever heard of the term "No man's land" you just saw where the term originated. On one side you had the German trenches and on the other side you had the British, French and Belgian trenches. A network of trenches that ran from the English Channel/North Sea to the border of Switzerland and the ground in between was "No man's land". When war broke out in August of 1914 none of the armies of Europe were prepared to deal with skilled infantrymen armed with rifles that held 5 rounds in the mag, machines guns and rapid fire artillery. The French Army still wore bright red and blue uniforms and everyone still had cavalry with lances and swords.
When you all noticed the German trenches were better constructed it was due to the fact that the Western Front had hardly moved either way for about 2 1/2 years. The Germans started building concrete bunkers and reinforced trench lines all linked up into what was called the Hindenberg Line. The Allies attacked the lines several times in 1917 but wasn't breached until September of 1918. It was during this static period that in which the British trying to figure out how to cross no man's land that the tank was developed. The Germans developed the Stormtrooper tactic as their way of crossing no man's land. Both sides soon copied each others concepts.
Another good WW1 movie to watch is All Quiet on the Western Front. One was made in 1930 and another was made in 1979. They are based off the book of the same name written by Erich Maria Remarque who was a German soldier who fought on the Western Front in WW1.
Wonderful reaction as always.
Love you guys❤
we have a saying in Australia on anzac day. "less we forget"". If we forget our past we will repeat it. Just like every other civilization in history that forgot.
Ah - just love George's 'Wiiiiilllllsonnnnnn!' tee!
I thought the exact same thing when I saw him cut his hand and stuff it in the dead body.
Such a good movie. Some cuts were done by blending a bit of cgi with the actual footage. If i remember right, a scene where they slide into a crater is a blended scene.
One of my favorite war movies since Private Ryan. Very well done movie.
Even today the farmers of France dig up dud shells and dropped equipment, they’ve nicknamed it the ‘Iron Harvest’.
The land around the city of Verdun still has some WW1 crater scars I believe. I also remember a couple of years ago that in one French town while doing some road work they found a buried US M5 Stuart light tank from WW2. They think what may have happened was the tank broke down or was knocked out by the Germans and the Americans just left it there. Later when rebuilding they think the workers pushed the tank into a nearby shell/bomb crater to fill it up faster.
Many, many Canadian soldiers bravely fought and gave their lives in WWI.
The battle depicted in the film is Arras; the Canadian part of this battle was Vimy Ridge.
Though English...I had a Grt Uncle, Pvt. George H Johnston who fought as a Canadian with the 47th Batt. CEF. in WW1. He suffered a severe head wound and was returned to Canada where he spent the remainder of his life in a mental hospital. That is untill he committed suicide in 1927 by drinking corrosive acid. Whether this was on purpose or by accident due to his mental state I do not know. But it's a sad end for a soldier.
Notice how important trees play in the story of this.
Thanks,
Testament of Youth from 2014 is excellent also, tho it mostly takes the view from the homefront, with Alicia Vikander and Kit Harington
13:20 'Is that what they called Canadians in WW1?' - er...Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada until 1949. It was an independent British Dominion, just like Canada, Australia etc. I am British and know this, so how come these Canadians are unaware? Very strange.
The brother hes looking for plays Icarus in "The Externals."
Newfoundland isn't part of Canada until 1949
Also both LT. Blake and Lance Cpl. Blake played in Game of Thrones together, too.
The part at the end of the film where he runs into somebody else was a mistake, but they left it in because it looked so natural